Neurosurgeons sometimes rely on “image-guidance” systems to help them navigate through the brain of a patient during a brain surgery. Such an image-guidance system must be positioned in as accurate as possible in relation to a predetermined portion of the patient.
A currently available image-guidance system can be utilized in an operating room in a manner as shown in FIG. 3. First, at step 301, a plurality of anchors is attached to the skull of a patient. At step 303, a three-dimensional (3D) topographic image, such as by x-ray computed tomography (CT), of the skull of the patient is acquired, in which the anchors are visible. At step 305, a platform is customizedly designed and constructed with a plurality of legs to be engaged with the plurality of anchors attached to the skull of the patient, where each of the plurality of legs can be attached by means of a bolt to a corresponding one of the plurality of anchors. At step 307, the platform is attached to the plurality of anchors, wherein each of the plurality of legs is attached to a corresponding one of the plurality of anchors by means of a bolt passing through a hole defined in the leg and into a threaded hole in the corresponding anchor. At step 309, the plurality of legs of the platform is aligned in relation to the plurality of anchors with a predetermined degree of alignment accuracy. And then at step 311, the platform, which is now attached or mounted to the plurality of anchors, is used as a guidance device during surgery.
Different types of anchor and platform have been utilized by people skilled in the art. FIGS. 1 and 2 show schematically an exemplary anchor 100 and an exemplary platform 200 mounted to several anchors 100, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1, the anchor 100 has an axis, A, of symmetry representing the orientation of the anchor 100. The anchor 100 also has a cylindrical engagement portion 110 attachable to the skull 190 of a patient, which has an axis, A1, of symmetry representing the orientation of the cylindrical engagement portion 110. And the anchor 100 has a base portion 120 extending away from the cylindrical engagement portion 110 along the axis A, where the base portion 120 has a body 122 defining a threaded recess 124 therein and having an axis, A2, of symmetry representing the orientation of the threaded recess 124, and wherein the axis A1 and the axis A2 are substantially coincident with the axis A. The base portion has a first end 122a (top surface) and an opposite, second end 122b defining the body 122 therebetween, the body 122 has an outer side surface 122c, and an interior surface 122d, where the interior surface 122d is formed in the form of a female threaded portion, and the engagement portion 110 has a first end 110a and an opposite, second end 110b defining a body portion 110c therebetween, the body portion 110c having an outer surface 110d. In this example, the cylindrical engagement portion 110 is in the form of a screw, which attaches the anchor 100 to the skull 190, and the base portion is in the form of a hexagonal nut.
The platform 200 has a frame 202, and several legs 204. This exemplary platform 200 has four legs, although only three of them are shown. But a platform that has other numbers of legs can also be used. A bolt 206 attaches one leg 204 of the platform 200 to a corresponding anchor 100, where the bolt 206 is received into the threaded recess 124. As mounted, the bottom of the leg 204 sits on the top surface of the corresponding anchor 100. The design of the platform permits the bolt to pass through the hole in each leg and into a threaded hole in the corresponding anchor. The platform 200 also has one or more guide holes 208 formed such that a probe 210 attached to them can reach a desired target or targets.
The attachment of the platform 200 to the several anchors 100 requires that both the position of the top center, C, of the threaded recess or hole 124 and the orientation of that hole be determined for every anchor. In practice, these platforms are customized for each patient so that a particular platform can be positioned on a corresponding patient's head to mate with the anchors, which are attached to the skull of the patient at predetermined positions, chosen by medical professionals according to a surgery plan made for that patient. As shown in FIG. 2, the positions and orientations of the anchors, and hence the positions and orientations of their threaded recesses or holes for receiving bolts, are arbitrary. This arbitrariness arises because the positions and orientations depend on the shape of the patient's head, which is varied from one patient to another, and because the locations of the anchors on the head of a particular patient are chosen by the surgeon according to the particular case. The platform must be manufactured so that the holes in its legs line up with the threaded recesses or holes in the anchors to allow a bolt to pass through the hole in the leg and into the threaded recess or hole in the anchor. The platform must be aligned in relation to the anchors to a required alignment accuracy, which is estimated to be on the order of +/−5 degrees, so that bolts can be accurately positioned in right orientation and right position to mount the platform to the anchors, which at least requires two pieces of information: the position of the top center of the anchor hole and the orientation of the hole. The alignment accuracy requirement is estimated to be on the order of +/−5 degrees. These two pieces of information: the position of the top center of the threaded recesses or hole of the anchor and the orientation of the threaded recesses or hole of the anchor, which can be roughly determined by a user who uses interactive graphic software. However, it is difficult to achieve 5-degree accuracy and it is also time consuming for a medical professional to do so in the OR.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.